On top of the evidence of neonicotinoid pollution of rivers this survey report illustrates a worrying trend with impact for river life. Modest pollution in many English rivers is enough to kill 80% of eggs, increasing concerns over insects which are vital to all ecosystems Modest levels of pollution found in many English rivers are […]
New report reviews role of trees in flood alleviation CEH ‘Further calls for the inclusion of natural solutions in flood alleviation schemes were made following the severe floods in Cumbria, December 2015. Acknowledging ongoing debates around the evidence for tree cover as an effective flood mitigation measure, the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology today […]
Two notes from different perspectives: 1. Fish Legal take Environment Agency to task over River Wear hydropower scheme Fish Legal has written to the Environment Agency highlighting local anglers’ concerns about potential over-abstraction and design flaws in a hydro-electric scheme on the River Wear resulting in fish deaths at Framwellgate weir in Durham city centre. […]
Will Brexit break down or expand the new approaches that have been improving our rivers? This post is by Richard Benwell, head of government affairs at WWT, Green Alliance Blog 13/7/17 Every stretch of river has its own character. Here are a few of the personalities I’ve got to know over the years: Beverley Brook – […]
The Environment Agency has published plans ordering Southern Water to reduce its abstraction from the River Test by 40 per cent. New licence revisions will mean the level of abstraction permitted will be cut from 136 to 80 million litres per day. Abstraction will also be restricted when river flow drops below 355 million litres per […]
There has been a number of new initiatives on green infrastructure (GI) recently. A new resource from HR Wallingford shows how GI can help protect river banks and reduce flow speeds, and is often cheaper than conventional river engineering whilst providing multiple benefits. A survey for the EU funded PERFECT project shows the different […]
The UK River Prize is back for 2017 following another successful running of the prize in 2016 where the Rivers Eden, Derwent and Kent – “Cumbria Rivers” were announced as the winners. The prize will follow a similar format with finalists going through to the UK River Prize Awards Evening. The Awards Evening will once again be […]
Farmers Guardian: Defra has given the green light to a number of pilot projects to investigate the passing of river maintenance and operational activities from the Environment Agency (EA) to Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) where there is mutual agreement, a locally generated appetite, and benefit to doing so. According to the Association of Drainage Authorities […]